Author's Note: Writer Block with The End of Time...Yes, I am sad because never really had one with it before. Anyways, I just had this three-shots I wanna try. The idea is pretty ridiculous when put it into rivetra. But I am excited and nervous to write something that is not TET for this pairing – though I supposed my recent tumblr-scrolling at 3am and seeing cute rivetra popping up contributed to this. I was reading/catching up with SNK manga and hmm… I cannot deny that Isayama (-san?) likes to tease rivetra fans a lot.

WARNING: Mentions of self-harm and emotional breakdown

Create

Definition: Bring (something) into existence

Chapter 1

There was tension in the air. Hanji could feel it when she inhaled a lungful of said air. Her eyes darted downward, uncharacteristically twitchy. Robotically, she took the sugar cube tong near her and started dropping sugar cube into her hot tea.

One sugar cube.

Two sugar cube.

Three sugar cube.

Four sugar…

"You are going to get diabetes," the man across from her said dryly.

She looked up slowly, as though as someone had slapped her awake from a daydream and she was collecting herself. Her eyes zoned in to the man sitting opposite her who had spoken.

Shortest man in Humanity…nah, that is not right, Hanji corrected herself. Shortest man but Humanity's Strongest soldier was sitting opposite her with his usual stoic look and eyes as bored as his soul.

And not knowing the fate that would come later.

Hanji gripped the handle of her tea cup and brought it to her mouth. Her hands trembled. The tea sloshed over the rim, spilling onto the table and dripping onto the floor. She peered over the rim of the cup as the man twitched, his grey irises narrowing at the sight.

He was up in a second, manifesting two rags out of nowhere and threw one at her to tell her to clean up. She obeyed without her usual resistance and that made him raised an eyebrow.

They were almost done when the door to the office swung opened and a tall blonde man with broad shoulder joined the duo, clicking the door shut quietly behind him.

The man's countenance was grave. His sharp blue eyes were unusually dark and a frown creased his forehead, giving him the appearance of a man worn down by more things than he should have to bear.

"Levi and Hanji, as you all know the 57th expedition had went…" he chose his words carefully, but pulled short of vocabulary. The catastrophe was hard to put into words. "Had went in a way we did not expect," he summarised vaguely. "After a brief meeting," his frown deepened, foreshadowing an unpleasant news. "We have come to the conclusion that there is a need to increase our manpower in the Survey Corps."

"Increase?" Levi was the first to speak, and that was a surprise in itself. Hanji, always the more inquisitive one would have fired a question. But she was painfully quiet.

"Yes," Erwin replied tensely.

"Erwin, maybe there is another way-" Hanji started and her voice was exceptionally nervous.

"No. We do not have enough recruitment this time around. No one wants to join us," the blonde man's face was now so wrinkled in a frown, Hanji thought he may need an ironing.

"We always have a quota for-" The ponytail woman argued.

"The military recruitment is decreasing too," Erwin said, his voice still composed, a deep contrast to Hanji's raising one.

Levi stood in between them, hearing them talk in a way that clearly did not make sense to him. Something was off.

"Oi," he finally cuts in. The two occupants in the room who were still discussing fell silent.

"Erwin," Levi slowly eased the blonde man into his vision. Long-time comrade, and the man he had started out as despising but now was his most respected commander, was staring at him. He was waiting. Levi narrowed his gaze. "Am I missing something here? I was not aware that I would not be given the same information as Hanji. Unless I am or was demoted."

Erwin exchanged a look with the woman behind Levi. The raven hair man felt a twinge of irritation. What the fuck? They were hiding something from him. He was certain now.

When both people refused to speak again, Levi snapped. He never said he was a patient man. "You two may be tall here but don't be ridiculous. I could see the glances exchanged between both of you."

Erwin was the first to speak. "Levi, I think we ought to sit down."

That was when all of them realised that they were still standing, postures stiff and faces serious. Levi conceded, pulling the nearest chair next to him.

Erwin and Hanji, much to Levi's annoyance, made the show of pouring cups of tea and pulling their chairs out slowly. When Erwin and Hanji finally settled down in an excruciatingly slow pace, the former cleared his throat. "We need to increase our manpower somehow…or produce a capable soldier that will lead us to success with our expedition. The government is complaining about the tax we used every time we head out. Taking into account the latest…death counts, the government was pressurised by the citizens to do something about us. If nothing is done, the Survey Corps faced a very big existential crisis."

"Even if we stop the expedition, they just use the citizens' taxes for their own pleasures, anyway," Levi retorted. His face scrunched up into disgust. Stupid Sina's pigs.

"I agree the government is corrupted," Erwin answered. "But this time around, it is more than the tax issue – it is about the citizens complaining that there were too many deaths. Meaningless sacrifices."

Levi had no comment about that. His heart clenched as he thought of his squad. Each of them passed through his mind carefully and slowly, letting him drink in their broken features in death. Her smile was the last image that flitted through his mind before Hanji interrupted.

"We have a plan," Hanji said quietly. Something about her tone made Levi inside icy but he pushed it away. Hanji and quiet should never be together.

He watched as Hanji fidgeted in her seat for a little, obviously not wanting to talk about her plan. Levi knew her well enough.

"Levi Heichou," the woman finally said and her voice had swapped from a casual serious tone to a very formal one. The raven hair man felt the first bite of warning in him. "Erwin Smith and Hanji Zoe proposed that we select a pool of exceptional talented soldiers and either retired female soldiers or willing females to breed and give birth to an elite group of soldiers."

Levi was bringing his tea to his mouth when he paused. The teacup slipped from his usually steady hands that held the swords that killed dozens of titans. The porcelain cup shattered, making an incredibly loud sound in the quietness that lingered in the room. Amber liquid snaked their way on the floor, staining it, and making its way toward his boots.

Yet, Levi made no indication that he would move.

"Le-" Hanji reached out, concern in her voice. Her hands barely brushed his before he pulled it away hastily.

"You want the soldiers to be farm animals? Reduced to breeding? This is a fucking blasphemy and an irony. We vowed to get out of this fucking mess because we want to be free. But, you want to subject people to being fucking cattle? Are you out of your mind or is this a joke? A very sick one," he snarled.

Hanji flinched, her eyes showing her reluctance. However, the third occupant who had been silent till now, spoke.

"It is not an easy decision for us either. So many sacrifices to be made. More promises to be broken. But I believe that this is necessary for Survey Corps to survive. It needs to survive because only then, can humanity be free."

"We tie our own soldiers down to give them freedom?" Levi asked coldly.

Erwin shrugged. "Small sacrifices must be made for bigger return." The man swept his cold and calculating gaze over Levi. "Trust me with this, like you always do."

Levi was silent. He could feel the rage licking his system, threatening to erupt like hot lava. "This is fucked," he spat, for the lack of words that he could articulate.

"This will be announced tomorrow. We have already negotiate with the government. They are willing because they want their own safety too. The other fractions of military has been dropping in number. Of course, the breeding must be done without the citizens' knowledge. The women will be chosen-"

Levi was already out the door before the blonde man finished. Never had he once did this to the man he respected. He cannot find an inch in him to agree with the man. He-

"Levi."

He knew the voice. "Hanji," he greeted back aloofly.

"Erwin had asked me not to chase after you but I thought it was necessary."

"I don't want to listen to your bullshit."

"I know it is difficult. But think about it Levi, our numbers has dwindled so much over the years. This recent expedition has taken a hit-"

"We still have the brat."

"Eren? Yes, we do. But one titan is not enough for the rest out there…There is also the female titan we have to consider."

"You are asking people to copulate and give birth to a baby. Then, let the baby die by sending it to battles. That is how you want us to be free?"

Hanji bit her lips so hard, Levi saw that it drew blood. "It is our last choice," she answered flatly.

"A choice filled with regret is not a choice," Levi rebutted.

"We always take the path with less regret," Hanji said. "This is the path Erwin and I believe it is with the least regret."

"Our opinions differ," Levi commented curtly.

"…Is that because you know your name will be inside?" Hanji hesitated.

"I will be an idiot not to know," Levi replied. He shot her a disgusted look. "I didn't sign up for this bullshit."

As the sun dropped lower, the temperature fell along with it. The last ray of the feeble evening light caught the shimmering surface of the tea before it disappeared, bringing the last warmth along with it.

Levi tsked, annoyed. He hated the cold. And it was cold. The biting cold chilled his fingers into clumsy numbness, seeping into his toes and spreading painfully through his toes, as though as he was stepping bared-footed on pristine white ice instead of his heavy riding boots. He reached for his cup of tea as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration at the document in front of him.

Only to grimace not only at the lukewarm temperature of the insipid tea, but also at the content of the document.

It was his squad's death documents. To be acknowledged, signed, and sent to his families. It seemed that they had finished embalming their bodies and had sent the final things to be confirmed and finished. His hand fumbled around for a hurricane lamp, before he took out his fountain pen and started writing.

Language and writing were not his forte and his face contorted into a painful frown as he spent the night doing up 3 documents he had been dreading since their deaths.

He had faced many deaths in Survey Corps. The only thing he knew was goodbye in this line of job. And it should had desensitise him, just like seeing titans had. But he was not. His squad's deaths had hit him harder than he expected it to. Sharp and raw agony. Like a fresh wound grazing salt.

The door to his office opened just as he finished Oluo's death document. He sat there, motionless, and only his eyes darted up to the person standing by the door. It was barely four in the morning and he was ready to catch some sleep before dawn cracked and he had to finish up his other reports and meet up with Eren-

The long list of things to do made him sighed inwardly but all thoughts of annoying shits flew out of his mind as he saw Hanji there. He frowned. They had parted ways unhappily earlier on and he had rode back to the castle that was deserted, saved for him and Eren. But Eren was out with his friends for training and he had spent an evening alone with his raging thoughts. He hated how the ghosts of memories spent with his squad lingered in every single corner of the castle. He was waiting for someone to be back, to distract, and melt the memories away.

They said be careful what you wished for, and he believed it was true. While he wanted someone around, seeing Hanji at this timing was disconcerting. There could only be one-

"I sent her back," Hanji said quietly. "They said she is okay now."

Levi just stared at her, uncertain what he should say.

"She trashed the place," Hanji let slipped a fond smile that Levi thought was weird but again, anything that showed that she was back was a good sign. "Really strong for a petite girl. Now I know why you handpicked her." Hanji was blabbering now. A sure sign there was something wrong.

"What?" Levi interrupted her yammering rather rudely.

Hanji stopped short of her yapping, features rearranging into a grim look that made Levi's stomach churned. "Still very unstable and she had developed self-harming behaviour. We sent her back because - well, we need to settle some stuffs before she could move back in with her father."

"This is the best place to be," Hanji's eyes softened. "Look, I came so early because she kind of went insane on me, and well," Hanji smiled weakly, rolling her up sleeves to reveal long red lines that were akin to cat's scratches. "She is in her room."

Levi nodded mutely, watching as the ponytail titan freak left. She had left the door ajar and he took that as a sign to leave the room.

He walked carefully around the corridor, as though as even the slightest sound would cause the occupant in the room on the far left corner any distress.

Before long, he was standing at her door, contemplating. Levi was never a person who back down from whoever he deemed necessary. But, even this for him, was daunting. And difficult. He wondered how she was – he had not seen her in a few weeks since they had carried her limp body to the medical ward. The room on the other side of the door was awfully quiet, nothing like what Hanji had described.

Bracing himself, Levi knocked twice.

No response.

He expected that, and with a third knock, he swung opened the door.

The room was as it was, even in the shadows. Neat, clean, untouched. He remembered that she had left it that way before the expedition. His hand swiped the door accidentally. Only a layer of fine dust coating it showed that time had indeed passed.

His eyes searched the room for a little, before finding her. She was by the window. A silhouette in the quiet darkness. She did not turn around at the sound of the door and Levi stood in front of the door, eyes drinking her in.

She had lost a significant amount of weight. For a petite woman, she was already small. It was hard for Levi to imagine her even smaller but here she was. Definitely a size or two smaller. Her hair was slightly longer – he remembered her telling him that her hair tend to grow out quickly and she had to trim them every 2 weeks. She was stationary – a perfect little doll standing under the fading moonlight.

A very broken doll.

"Petra."

No reply.

He fucking missed her voice.

"Petra," he made an attempt to close the distance between them. He was two feet apart when she flinched suddenly. Levi stilled.

Slowly, she turned. Their eyes locked. Gone were the fieriness behind those golden liquid that always sparkled when she was chastising him for working too hard, or Oluo for annoying the shit out of her. Gone were the gentleness in her honey irises where it felt like eternal sunshine whenever she gazed at him when they were alone drinking tea, or when she was talking about the burden Eren had, or when she was smiling softly at one of the sick jokes the squad made. Gone were the life in her eyes. In them were nothing but bleakness.

The loss and the need to grieve for them were so strong, it roared in Levi's ears and sneaked poison into his veins. He had relished in her cheerfulness, he had basked in her sunshine, and he had loved them.

"Petra?"

The lady standing in front of him blinked. Once. Twice. But her lips did not moved.

"Get some sleep, you look like shit," Levi blurted out. He never was very good with words.

He was relieved, though, when the ginger hair lady nodded almost imperceptibly. But she made no attempt to move. She stared blankly at the spot behind him.

Despite Levi being an impatient man, he waited a couple of minutes for good measure before he marched over to her. Almost wanting to cringe himself when she flinched at their proximity, he pulled her toward the bed. It was not the first time he touched her hands, and he could feel the difference. Her hands were always soothing to the touch, her palms soft and smooth. But now, it was marred with uneven cuts here and there. He could feel them as his fingers ghosted over her palms slightly. His heart clenched.

He led her to her bed – a single bed with her blanket folded nicely as she had left it the morning of the expedition. She clambered in, reminding Levi of a small child. She had a small gauze on her face and Levi was certain that it was not injury from the expedition. She had sustained life-threatening injury on her spine and back of head – not on her right cheek.

Levi watched as she mechanically pulled opened her blanket and slipped in. Relief washed over him. At least she was being human. He had heard from Hanji that she was not very inclined to do activities like sleeping, eating and talking anymore.

"Goodnight," he said. It was strange to hear him said it first. Usually, she would be the one popping her head in to his room and giving him the word with a soft smile that lit her eyes.

She did not reply – not that Levi expected her to. Still, he felt like someone punched him. His eyes flickered toward her blanket, ensuring that she was tucked in properly before turning around.

A hand gripped his wrist.

He turned a fraction of his head.

She was staring at him, her eyes still a scary blankness that did not suit her nor any humans. But she tugged at his wrist again.

He turned and kneeled beside her bed frame, wrist still in her grip. "Use your words," he said sternly, reminding himself once again that she felt like a child.

Her expressions did not change – that scared him a little, and there was nothing much in the world that scare him. Even death would need to reconsider its impact on the raven hair man.

Her grasp loosened around his wrist and he almost smirked at her stubbornness – at least that was not lost.

She looked away, eyes vacant. Her fingers played with her skin – the part that had a bite mark – rough and uncaring of the redness she will leave behind.

Levi tched under his breath and grabbed her hand. "Ral, stop that."

She let out a soft, almost inaudible, noise – the first sound she made since they met each other again. Her eyes glazed over, and Levi watched as her eyes welled. The first drop of her tear caught the moonlight, scintillating hauntingly.

Her agony was so overwhelming, so heart-breaking that Levi could feel their grief swallowing them, wrapping them in a state of gloom so thick, it cannot be penetrated.

She sobbed uncontrollably, her frame quivering. Levi waited until the sun broke and the sky lightened, knees numbed and sore from kneeling by her bed, and the ginger hair girl tired herself up and fell asleep, before his own eyes slipped close a little.

He felt like shit when he woke up. That was the only way he could explain it. Neck feeling like it would break, legs tingling in numbness, and a loud scream that reverberated in his ears. Snapping his eyes opened, the scene before him startled his ever-so-composed self.

Petra was thrashing in her bed, a mask of fear on her face, rendering sleep incapable for both of them. He stood up, wincing as his bones cracked. Her eyes were wide and empty of light.

"Petra!"

No answer.

"Petra!"

No reaction. Still thrashing about.

He did the only thing he could, though he did not want to hurt her. He pinned her down. His body weight stopped her from any movements, and he gently put her hands over her head.

Their eyes met.

There was recognition in her eyes and not for the first time, Levi felt only relief. She was bony under his weight, and a twinge of guilt twisted Levi's inside. He had always believe all the comrades' deaths were on him. He sent them out to their graves and he was willing to bear all of them, no matter how heavy they were. But never had him bear this massive responsibility of destroying a person inside out, of rendering the person an empty shell of her previous self.

Petra was a strong soldier. Soft-hearted, and almost impossible to believe that she was way stronger – physically and mentally – than many others. She almost always bounced back from adversity, and from her comrades' deaths. She had nightmares; they all have. It came with their jobs. But Levi knew this time, it was beyond nightmare. It was a reality. She had been the lone survivor of the Female Titan's attacks, saved only in the nick of time. She would have lost too much blood had Levi not sent a man nearby to bring her back to the wall while he gave chase on the Female Titan who had taken Eren.

Upon returning, he caught a glimpse of her. Almost unrecognisable through all the crimson liquid. It was a mess. His comrade – a friend of his – was lost, not stolen by a Grim Reaper, but by his own hands. Because he forced it upon them to do this. He handpicked them and paved the doomed fate for them.

She was precious to him. A person who had understood him inside out, who looked beyond his brusque and offensive demeanour.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the door swinging opened and the loud sounds of Eren and his bunch of idiots.

"Miss Petra-Oh!"

The brunette's voice went a pitch high. Levi almost rolled his eyes.

"Get out," Levi ordered. She was unstable now, and any more noise may make her sink back into a meltdown again.

"Y-y-yes!" Eren stuttered, face red at seeing the compromising position the other two occupants in the room were in.

"Eren," Mikasa's voice was serene compared to the brunette. "Let's go," she said firmly. Levi caught the glowering look she gave him, angry that he had used such a curt tone on Eren.

He was unaffected, and watched as the door closed behind them softly. He turned his attention back to the honey irises' owner, and sighed as she remained frozen in her position. Levi swung his legs over the bed, careful to ease his weight off her, but still pinning her hands up so that she had no way to hit both of them.

His eyes flickered toward the clock on her nightstand. He needed to get out to finish his documents, though he knew that he had barely slept. He let go of her hands slowly, watching for signs of meltdown, but relaxed when she seemed calm enough to flutter her eyelids close.

He straightened up, and crossed the room in a deliberate manner.

It was only when he was about to open the door, hand already curling around the handle, when he heard a voice. Familiar, sweet and sounded like wind chime marred only by cracks in her voice from disused.

"Thank you, Heichou."

He was halfway down the stairs when he heard ruckus from the kitchen. He tched in annoyance but went down the stairs anyway in the direction of the chaos.

He was definitely greeted with madness.

"Sasha, we are going to get killed if you continue making a mess," Eren was hissing, two cloths in each of his hands and scrubbing away on the flour-coated table.

"Eren, let me help you," Mikasa said, reaching for one of the cloth in Eren's hand, only to be batted away by the brunette.

"I am not a kid," he complained. Another lighter-haired brunette – Jean, Levi believed – grabbed Eren by the collar with a cloth covered in flour.

"Be grateful! I am jealous!" He shouted.

Eren narrowed his gaze, shoving Jean away. "You are getting flour all over my clothes!"

"Eren…let me clean you up," the Asian beauty said.

"Ahhh! Sasha, the egg- you forgot the egg!" Armin – Levi knew his name from the gushing Hanji always poured over the blonde during meetings – was exclaiming.

His head pounded from the lack of sleep and the cacophony of noise, but he thought it was better than the dreaded silent he had faced these few weeks. His eyes swept the clutter in the room in repulsion.

"Oi."

All the dins in the room suddenly disappeared.

"Clean the place up by the time you all finished," Levi said in his usual bored tone, but a layer of menace was crouched low below it; a promise that should not be missed or taken lightly.

"Yes, sir!"

He turned on his heels and walked out of the kitchen.

"Was he smiling?" Armin, the ever observant one, spoke first, breaking the stunned silence in the room.

Levi was turning toward the staircase to go back to his study when there was a sharp knock from the entrance door. He paused, wondering if it was the four eyes freak, before approaching the knocks that were grinding on his nerves.

He pulled opened the door to reveal a man he identified as Erwin's man. The soldier hastily handed the envelope over, eyes shifty, and began backing away. Levi watched the strange behaviour of the man for a moment, before glancing down at the white envelope in his hand. Written in Erwin's neat handwriting at the front, and printed with a Survey Corps logo. Disquietude reflected in Levi.

Levi,

I know it is not something we both are happy with, but it is a decision that is necessary in my judgement. I ask for your understanding, like you always have. I don't ask for your forgiveness; this is something I probably would never have the magnanimity in me to forgive either, if I were in your shoes. We are both men… I think we all have the bottom line of understanding that copulation is an act that must be consensus and respectful. I chose her, because I believe it is the best choice. Not only because the child that you two produced will have, no doubt, the strength of hundreds of soldiers, but I know you always have a soft spot for her. I want to say we are friends…but that is a bit of a stretch in this world we live in. So, we are comrades striving for the same goal – mutually understanding each other that freedom for the humanity is our priority. I hope for your understanding.

Erwin

Corporal Levi Ackerman

Survey Corps

You have been asked to produce at least a child with Petral Ral in a year's time for the sole purpose of creating a stronger and lasting army for humanity against the fight with titans. There will be no negotiation and no reediting of the conditions. We seek your understanding.

Royal Government

"Son of a bitch," Levi hissed.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I am actually super nervous posting this because I felt that the plot is going to be questioned a lot by the readers. I mean, I questioned it too. But I thought the fun part about fanfiction is to make it realistic enough and cover your own plot hole! Haha. Constructive criticisms and reviews are welcome! Side note: This is going to be a short story. Probably two-shots or three-shots. I want to focus on TET which I am working on already! Big love to you all, always. For the immense support and loyalty to the ship!